This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Modern vehicles increasingly include features that add to the overall comfort and enjoyment of vehicle occupants. For example, modern vehicles typically include powered, heated, and/or cooled seats to facilitate operation of the seat and to provide a heating or cooling effect, thereby increasing the comfort of the vehicle occupants during both cold-weather conditions and hot-weather conditions. In addition, many vehicles include a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system (HVAC) that provides front and rear occupants with individual controls to allow front and rear occupants to control the temperature at a particular location of the vehicle. Particularly for premium vehicles, the foregoing features are typically used in conjunction with one another to ensure each occupant is provided with an optimum and desired level of comfort when seated in the vehicle.
While any of the foregoing features may be implemented for a particular vehicle occupant and at any seating location within the vehicle, most features are at least directed to the comfort and enjoyment of the driver, as the driver likely spends the most time in the vehicle and typically makes the purchasing decision when buying another vehicle. Therefore, vehicle manufacturers pay particular attention to the features afforded to a driver both in comfort, aesthetics, and operation to provide the driver with an enjoyable and comfortable driving experience. To that end, vehicle manufacturers increasingly strive to optimize placement of vehicle controls and, further, to enhance the overall aesthetics and comfort of such controls.
When operating a vehicle, the driver is usually engaged with a steering wheel with one or both hands at all times. As a result, vehicle controls are usually incorporated into the steering wheel to facilitate operation of the vehicle. For example, modern steering wheels typically include switches or other control devices that operate various vehicle functions such as an audio system, a cruise-control system, and frequently a telephone system. Some steering wheels even incorporate paddles that allow the driver to shift a transmission of the vehicle in an effort to allow the driver to control virtually every function of the vehicle without having to remove either hand from the steering wheel.
Incorporation of the foregoing vehicle-control systems into the steering wheel increases the likelihood that a driver will maintain one or both hands on the steering wheel at all times. Aesthetic features and comfort features are increasingly added to steering wheels to increase the enjoyment and comfort of the driver when operating the vehicle. Such features typically include a leather wrap surrounding a rim of the steering wheel as well as various trim components extending from the leather-wrapped rim to a hub of the steering wheel. Such trim components may be formed from a wood-grain material, a metallic material, and/or a plastic material that cooperate to increase the feel and overall aesthetics of the steering wheel.
In addition to increasing the aesthetics and feel of the steering wheel, some steering wheels additionally include a heating system to provide the driver with a heating effect during cold-weather conditions. Such systems are typically incorporated into a rim of the steering wheel and generate the heating effect at the rim of the steering wheel, whereby the heating effect radiates through a leather wrap or other material surrounding the rim to allow the driver to experience the heating effect.
While conventional steering wheels may incorporate a heating system to provide a driver with an increased level of comfort, many such heating systems are bulky, complex, and costly. As a result, conventional steering-wheel heating systems increase the overall thickness of a steering-wheel rim, thereby increasing the amount of material required to construct the steering wheel and impacting the overall aesthetics and feel of the steering wheel.